Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 25, 2026

University of Southampton

Technology areas: Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals • Semiconductors, Circuits & Optics

13 pending office actions • 10 art units • 13 examiners • 0 of 13 (0%) have an AI response strategy ready • 7 patents granted in the last 365 days

Analysis

The University of Southampton manages 13 pending office actions in the Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals technology area. These 13 pending office actions are assigned to 13 distinct examiners. This distribution indicates that each active application is being reviewed by a different individual. The workload is distributed across 10 distinct art units, reflecting a broad technical focus within the biotechnology sector. HERRING, LISA L is the busiest examiner, currently holding 1 busiest examiner pending office action. This single action is part of the larger group of 13 pending office actions.

Navigating 10 distinct art units with 13 distinct examiners requires a highly adaptable prosecution strategy. The university must coordinate across many different technical subgroups, each with its own examination norms, while addressing the specific feedback of 13 different examiners. With 13 pending office actions spread across 10 distinct art units, the university faces a diverse array of patentability challenges. The involvement of 13 distinct examiners ensures that the portfolio is subject to a wide variety of perspectives, which may help in identifying different paths to allowance. However, the lack of concentration under HERRING, LISA L means that the university cannot rely on a single relationship to drive its overall success.

Written from this page's own data; every figure is computed from USPTO records and verified before publication.

Portfolio Summary

13
Total Pending OAs
7
Non-Final OAs
5
Final Rejections
1
Advisory / Quayle

Response Deadline Pressure

Based on the USPTO statutory response window for each pending office action. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date; the rest are excluded from the tile counts.

1
Overdue
0
Due this week
1
Due this month
1
Due in next 60 days
1
Due later

Deadline Fire Line

Every pending office action with a known statutory deadline, placed on a days-until-due axis. Dots left of Today are overdue; the further right, the more runway. Cases that share a deadline window stack vertically. 4 of the docket's apps have a known mailing date.

-30dToday30d60d90d120d
Overdue (1)Due ≤ 30 days (1)Due ≤ 60 days (1)Due later (1)

Case Difficulty Mix

Difficulty is derived from the rejection statutes on the most recent pending office action. §101-driven and multi-statute cases are graded Hard; §112-only and obviousness-type double-patenting cases are graded Easy; everything else is Medium. "Unknown" means we have not yet parsed a statute for that office action.

5
Hard (38%)
7
Medium (54%)
1
Easy (8%)
0
Unknown (0%)

Rejection Statute Mix

BucketCases
§101 + other1 (8%)
§103 only6 (46%)
Double-patenting only1 (8%)
Double-patenting + other1 (8%)
Multi-statute (no §101)4 (31%)

Industry Mix

How the docket's pending cases split across USPTO tech-center bands.

8
Life Sciences
62% of docket
0
Information Tech
0% of docket
0
Communications
0% of docket
3
Semiconductors
23% of docket
2
Mechanical / Eng
15% of docket
0
Business / Other
0% of docket

Time-on-OA Estimate

Manual office-action response work runs about 10 hours per case. The time-saved bands below show what IP Author's prosecution pipeline typically delivers — a conservative 20% on the low end, 35% in the middle, 50% on the high end.

130 h
Manual time on pending OAs
26 h
Time saved (low, 20%)
46 h
Time saved (mid, 35%)
1.1 wks
FTE-weeks freed (mid)

Top Examiners on this docket

ExaminerApps on this docketAllow rateInterview lift
HERRING, LISA L 1 72.9% +17.2%
XING, CHRISTINA ILONA 1 83.0% +10.9%
FABIAN JR, ROBERTO 1 71.0% +28.5%
VAN DRUFF, SYDNEY 1 55.3% +32.0%
GURLEY, JAMI MICHELLE 1 54.8% +14.3%
CHHAY, BONIRATH 1 62.5% +0.0%
ANTISKAY, BRIAN MICHAEL 1 67.2% +39.3%
KATAKAM, SUDHAKAR 1 74.8% +23.3%
CHU, CHRIS H 1 53.1% +8.6%
DENT, ALANA HARRIS 1 44.1% +32.2%

Quick Wins (1)

Cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate of 80%+ where the difficulty is Easy or Medium. The top 1 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18837230 OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY FOR HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRES XING, CHRISTINA ILONA —

Hard Cases (5)

Multi-statute / §101-driven matters, or cases in front of an examiner with an allow rate under 30%. The top 5 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
17440067 PEPTIDE-INDUCED NK CELL ACTIVATION DICKINSON, PAUL W 27d
18993657 HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRE DRAWING METHOD WITH MODIFIED DRAWDOWN HERRING, LISA L —
18564913 Suppressive T Cell Populations and Methods of Cancer Immunotherapy GURLEY, JAMI MICHELLE —
17297102 METHOD FOR FABRICATING NANOSTRUCTURED OPTICAL ELEMENTS USING POLARISED LIGHT EVANGELISTA, THEODORE JUSTINE —
17270403 METHODS AND COMPOSITONS FOR MODULATIONS OF IMMUNE RESPONSE SHUPE, ELIZABETH A —

Interview Candidates (8)

Cases in front of an examiner whose interview lift is 10 percentage points or more — i.e. interviewed cases historically resolve more favorably than non-interviewed ones. The top 8 ordered by deadline are shown.

App #TitleExaminerDue in
18651929 USE OF NOX INHIBITORS FOR TREATMENT OF CANCER VAN DRUFF, SYDNEY 26d overdue
17625226 Intratumoral TFR Cells Curtail Anti-PD-1 Treatment Efficacy DENT, ALANA HARRIS 84d
18993657 HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRE DRAWING METHOD WITH MODIFIED DRAWDOWN HERRING, LISA L —
18837230 OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY FOR HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRES XING, CHRISTINA ILONA —
18717742 MULTI-EXCITATION RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY METHOD AND APPARATUS FABIAN JR, ROBERTO —
18564913 Suppressive T Cell Populations and Methods of Cancer Immunotherapy GURLEY, JAMI MICHELLE —
18265580 REFERENCE ELECTRODE & ION SELECTIVE MEMBRANE ANTISKAY, BRIAN MICHAEL —
18037402 COMPOSITIONS KATAKAM, SUDHAKAR —

Top Art Units

Art UnitApps
1643 3
2877 2
1741 1
1647 1
1645 1
3794 1
1658 1
2874 1
1618 1
3700 1

Pending Office Actions

App #TitleExaminerArt UnitStatutesStatusDue inAIFiled
18993657 HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRE DRAWING METHOD WITH MODIFIED DRAWDOWN HERRING, LISA L 1741 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Jan 13, 2025
18837230 OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETRY FOR HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL FIBRES XING, CHRISTINA ILONA 2877 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Aug 09, 2024
18717742 MULTI-EXCITATION RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY METHOD AND APPARATUS FABIAN JR, ROBERTO 2877 §103 Non-Final OA — Pending Jun 07, 2024
18651929 USE OF NOX INHIBITORS FOR TREATMENT OF CANCER VAN DRUFF, SYDNEY 1643 §103 Non-Final OA 26d overdue Pending May 01, 2024
18564913 Suppressive T Cell Populations and Methods of Cancer Immunotherapy GURLEY, JAMI MICHELLE 1647 §101§103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Nov 28, 2023
18281530 NOVEL COMBINATIONS OF ANTIBODIES AND USES THEREOF CHHAY, BONIRATH 1645 §103Other Final Rejection — Pending Sep 11, 2023
18265580 REFERENCE ELECTRODE & ION SELECTIVE MEMBRANE ANTISKAY, BRIAN MICHAEL 3794 §103 Final Rejection — Pending Jun 06, 2023
18037402 COMPOSITIONS KATAKAM, SUDHAKAR 1658 §103DP Final Rejection — Pending May 17, 2023
18245273 HOLLOW CORE OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES AND METHODS FOR MODIFICATION THEREOF CHU, CHRIS H 2874 §103 Final Rejection 33d Pending Mar 14, 2023
17625226 Intratumoral TFR Cells Curtail Anti-PD-1 Treatment Efficacy DENT, ALANA HARRIS 1643 DP Non-Final OA 84d Pending Jan 06, 2022
17440067 PEPTIDE-INDUCED NK CELL ACTIVATION DICKINSON, PAUL W 1618 §103§112 Non-Final OA 27d Pending Sep 16, 2021
17297102 METHOD FOR FABRICATING NANOSTRUCTURED OPTICAL ELEMENTS USING POLARISED LIGHT EVANGELISTA, THEODORE JUSTINE 3700 §103§112 Final Rejection — Pending May 26, 2021
17270403 METHODS AND COMPOSITONS FOR MODULATIONS OF IMMUNE RESPONSE SHUPE, ELIZABETH A 1643 §103§112 Non-Final OA — Pending Feb 22, 2021

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many pending USPTO office actions does University of Southampton have?

University of Southampton has 13 pending office actions as of October 2026, spread across 10 art units and 13 examiners.

Which USPTO examiner handles the most University of Southampton applications?

Lisa L Herring has the most, with 1 of University of Southampton's pending office actions.

What technology area are University of Southampton's patent applications in?

Mostly Biotechnology & Pharmaceuticals (USPTO Tech Center 1600), based on where its pending office actions are examined.

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